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Old 02-25-2014, 08:42 AM
John Buchtenkirch John Buchtenkirch is offline
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Location: Glen Cove, Long Island
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Default My favorite brake

My all-time favorite hand brake http://www.ebay.com/itm/12Ga-Gauge-72-L-Whitney-Jensen-612-APRON-BRAKE-/171248223294?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27df30 843e
. After owning eight-foot, six-foot and even four-foot Whitney brakes I find the six footer to be the best size for my shop. It will take care of better than 95% of the work that comes into my shop. You don't have to walk as much between the hold-down handles and the weight of a six-foot apron is about one half of an eight-foot apron so it takes a lot less effort to get it moving. The four-foot ends up being too small for many automotive jobs.

The Whitney brake has about 9 inches of setback adjustment on the upper beam (something other brakes don't have) so there is plenty of room to use shop built radius dies and also radius bars to bend heavier than the 12gauge that the brake is rated for. Also the hold-down adjustments are quick and easy to reset for different metal thicknesses. I've had mine since 1989 and have no plans to sell it as long as I can still work. This is the brake Ron Fournier features in his books.

Not cheap but not a hobbyist level brake by any means, it will hold its value and likely increase in value thru the years. I paid $1750. For mine back in 1989. I’ve made this machinery dealer lower cash offers and sometimes he has taken them but I don’t know anyone over there on a first name basis so it’s strictly a buyer beware deal. ~ John Buchtenkirch
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Old 02-25-2014, 12:24 PM
Metal man bryan Metal man bryan is offline
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I have the same brake pretty sure they called it a combonation brake because you can put fingers on to use as a box pan brake. Mine came with the box pan fingers, when I got it home and took them off I found out that it had always had the fingers on so the brake edge was brand new. I love this brake but does take up some room but it is worth it. Dont see them much, but if you do try to buy it. thanks Bryan
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Old 02-25-2014, 02:37 PM
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Richard K Richard K is offline
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Two of my friends have those brakes. There just isnt anything comparable. An absolute joy to use.
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Old 02-25-2014, 02:52 PM
John Buchtenkirch John Buchtenkirch is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Metal man bryan View Post
I have the same brake pretty sure they called it a combonation brake because you can put fingers on to use as a box pan brake. Mine came with the box pan fingers, when I got it home and took them off I found out that it had always had the fingers on so the brake edge was brand new. I love this brake but does take up some room but it is worth it. Dont see them much, but if you do try to buy it. thanks Bryan
Yes, it is a combination brake. But I would not recommend the new owner buying fingers for it, it makes more sense to just buy and 4 foot box and pan brake because it takes almost an hour to convert the Whitney brake from a straight break to a finger break and the same amount of time to go back. I did that for a while when I first started out and got sick of it pretty quickly. The 12gauge Whitney brake is an absolute beast, I bend shorter pieces of 1/8 inch in mine all the time and with the proper shop built dies you can do much more. It's very hard for someone who has never seen a Whitney brake to quite understand how the extended set-back feature of the upper beam can work for you, you almost have to use one for a while just to appreciate just how good it is . ~ John Buchtenkirch
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Old 02-25-2014, 09:56 PM
Irrational Metalworks Irrational Metalworks is offline
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This is the most awesome brake a custom fabricator can own. A place I worked at years ago had a 10 footer. It was amazing what you could do with it. It had a well thought out system of die holders that you could attach all different sizes of radius bars to, without a whole lot of set up time. Wish I could buy this one!
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Old 02-26-2014, 07:55 PM
Overkill Overkill is offline
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Default What's your opinion on

John,

I have a 4' Dries and Krump finger brake rated at 14 gauge. I recently came across the same brake in 8'. I do need a larger brake, but not necessarily a larger finger brake.

What are your thoughts regarding one 8' finger brake, vs a 4' finger and 8' leaf?
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Ron Covell, Autofuturist books (Tim Barton/Bill Longyard) and Kent White metalshaping DVD's available, shipped from the US. Contact lane@mountainhouseestate.com for price and availability.
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Old 02-26-2014, 08:21 PM
cwilliamrose cwilliamrose is offline
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We have the 16ga eight footer in our shop. Great tool!
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